The Name of the Rose is fantastic. The movie is good too. Oh, it's come flooding back to me now. I was thinking about how well he developed the idea of the monastery being a center of medieval life, how much the outside world impinges on it, how much the town gathers around it and depends on it, how they blend, all the wonderful details like the old guys eye lenses before corrective lenses were invented, his description of the scriptorium, just one single page's margins detailed, and building up the mystery of the library, the inner sanctum, its inaccessibility and secrecy the book gets closer and closer to the library, the thread of knowledge for the Western world built to high tension then penetrated and it turns out a maze of mysterious classifications of dangerous knowledge with coded doorways and after building up the essential importance of the place and the delicate balance of all this what is left for an author to do?
I gave up on Althouse- but I'll bet there will be a long TKAM post. and I'll bet that the Yankee Ann will once again misunderstand southern writing. Lee wrote the book from a child's point of view for a reason. I think I have met, or I am related to every character in TKAM. So double points for Lee when it comes to character development.
Eco's The Name of the Rose is sublime, Chip gives a great review above. The author draws you into the medieval monastery and at first you are lost in latin terms, but then even time itself is renamed to match the various times of prayer the monks follow. (prime/terce/vespers etc) You really do get drawn into that world. And the murder mystery is terrific, keeps the suspense going in a long novel. I could not read it in one sitting.
I've enjoyed all Eco's novels, except The Island of the Day Before and I keep telling myself I'd like that, too, if I could keep from falling asleep early on. I loved the way Eco's mind worked. He always seemed to write about stuff which interested me. Foucault's Pendulum was a complete hoot for anyone who loves history and conspiracy theories.
I came to TKAM late in life, but fell in love with with it in a way I hadn't loved any book since I was a very young woman. This was the South and the people I grew up with. I don't know about you, but for me, magic on the page became harder to find the older I've become.
5 comments:
Roger Simon adds he read Name of the Rose in one evening. That's fast.
Given that, I bet I could get him mixed up conversationally by mentioning scenes from Foucault's Pendulum. It would be like mixing up two time-lapses.
Eco chamber tonight.
The Name of the Rose is fantastic. The movie is good too. Oh, it's come flooding back to me now. I was thinking about how well he developed the idea of the monastery being a center of medieval life, how much the outside world impinges on it, how much the town gathers around it and depends on it, how they blend, all the wonderful details like the old guys eye lenses before corrective lenses were invented, his description of the scriptorium, just one single page's margins detailed, and building up the mystery of the library, the inner sanctum, its inaccessibility and secrecy the book gets closer and closer to the library, the thread of knowledge for the Western world built to high tension then penetrated and it turns out a maze of mysterious classifications of dangerous knowledge with coded doorways and after building up the essential importance of the place and the delicate balance of all this what is left for an author to do?
Burn it all down.
I gave up on Althouse- but I'll bet there will be a long TKAM post. and I'll bet that the Yankee Ann will once again misunderstand southern writing. Lee wrote the book from a child's point of view for a reason. I think I have met, or I am related to every character in TKAM. So double points for Lee when it comes to character development.
Eco's The Name of the Rose is sublime, Chip gives a great review above. The author draws you into the medieval monastery and at first you are lost in latin terms, but then even time itself is renamed to match the various times of prayer the monks follow. (prime/terce/vespers etc) You really do get drawn into that world. And the murder mystery is terrific, keeps the suspense going in a long novel. I could not read it in one sitting.
I've enjoyed all Eco's novels, except The Island of the Day Before and I keep telling myself I'd like that, too, if I could keep from falling asleep early on. I loved the way Eco's mind worked. He always seemed to write about stuff which interested me. Foucault's Pendulum was a complete hoot for anyone who loves history and conspiracy theories.
I came to TKAM late in life, but fell in love with with it in a way I hadn't loved any book since I was a very young woman. This was the South and the people I grew up with. I don't know about you, but for me, magic on the page became harder to find the older I've become.
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